You’ve heard about farm-to-table, but what about farm-to-table-to-farm-to-table? That’s right, the North Fork’s Browder’s Birds have begun a locavore poultry project that is sure to have you singing, “It’s the circle of life,” in no time. Mattituck’s organic free-range chicken farmers are currently feeding two of their flocks scraps from the highly touted North Fork Table and Inn and the chickens will ultimately appear on the restaurant’s menu on the weekend of July 25. The well-fed fowl are dubbed “Little Gerrys” in a playful synthesis of Seinfeld fame with the name of the North Fork Table’s executive chef, Gerard Hayden. “We’ve been working with North Fork Table for five years,” says Holly Browder. “They were the first restaurant we sold eggs to, and we’ve always talked about doing a local chicken for them, but it’s taken us five years to get to the point where we could do it, so we’re really excited.”

Lucky birds, for now.

Through October, flocks of 100 Little Gerrys will be processed every two weeks with 40 chickens per flock to appear at Hayden’s table. The chickens will also be available at the Browders’ farm stand at 4050 Soundview Avenue in Mattituck, which is open every Friday through Sunday, this weekend. They will be sold fresh. Though these chickens will also appear on the menus of other East End hot spots, such as Greenport’s First and South and Estia’s Little Kitchen in Sag Harbor, Browder says she is hoping to be able to retail some Little Gerrys to the public. A portion of the proceeds, including the difference in the wholesale and retail price of Little Gerrys will be donated to aLove Shared. A Love Shared is a collaborative fundraising effort formed by the region’s brightest culinary stars to promote research for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and provide care for Hayden, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2011. More than 15 A-list chefs will be featured at a Love Shared’s River Cafe reunion tomorrow night, including Nick & Toni’s Joe Realmuto.

About Gianna Volpe

Gianna Volpe is a freelance multimedia reporter on the East End of Long Island and 2013's New York Press Association Rookie Reporters of the Year. She received her bachelor degree in journalism with an emphasis in photojournalism at the University of Missouri in 2010 and grew up at the foot of the Palisades in New Jersey, which overlook New York City. She now lives in Riverhead.

Sandy’s aftermath — a view from the sky

Suffolk Times reporter Gianna Volpe took to the air Friday to document some of the effects of Hurricane Sandy on the shores of the North Fork, which was thankfully spared some of the more widespread destruction seen in other areas like the Rockaways and Long Beach.

GIANNA VOLPE PHOTO | Damage to Paradise Point in the Bayview area of Southold Town.

GIANNA VOLPE PHOTO | Damage to Paradise Point in the Bayview area of Southold Town.

GIANNA VOLPE PHOTO | Damage to Paradise Point in the Bayview area of Southold Town.

Friday, August 15, 2014

Montauk bartender, Sag Harbor Gym trainer and women’s roller derby star Samantha Duane, as photographed by photographer and Montauk local James Katsipis for his “Mermaids of Montauk” series.

By Gianna Volpe

Before in-water surf photographer James Katsipis had even arrived at the Montauk Beach house for last Friday’s opening of “Mermaids of Montauk,” one of the show’s 18 photographs had already been sold.

“Mermaids” is the babely black-and-white portrait series already barreling through East End’s social media waves this summer, even though its photographer—lifetime local Mr. Katsipis of Montauk—hasn’t yet finished shooting it.

“I made a Facebook artist page, an Instagram and a Twitter and as soon as I put up, ‘For booking and info, please contact montaukmermaids@gmail.com,’ my phone would not stop buzzing,” said Mr. Katsipis. “I can’t even go through all the messages because it would take too long, it’s crazy… Everywhere I go people are telling me they love the series. In fact, after Mike Williams—a huge fashion photographer—saw it, he personally called me and put it on his site, Imagista, so now you can go there to check out the updated ‘Mermaids’ works.”

The shots are dramatic – many a model immersed in murky waters—but that’s exactly how Mr. Katsipis likes it.

“These aren’t the Tahitian blue underwater shots you see of girls swimming,” he said. “This is real deal Montauk—cold, dark and moody.”

And though these gorgeous “Mermaids”—most of whom are nude or near so—may be splayed across Montauk’s rocks or appear at rest as they look coyly into the camera, they are by no means beach bunnies.

Mr. Katsipis, 31, said the series is an homage to the surfers he grew up surfing alongside, so when it comes to his subjects, these are generally women who know how to lean in.

“Growing up in Montauk all the guys would surf, but the girls were out there, too,” he said. “They were right there with us when the waves got big—taking off charging, getting their ass handed to them and going back for more. They’re not sitting on the beach going, ‘Oh my God the waves are too big.’ They’re watermen just like us—true mermaids—like Ariel Engstrom. She’s gorgeous and she surfs pipeline in Hawaii…. A lot of these girls are great swimmers, so it is really easy to shoot with them.”

Mr. Katsipis said he’s been shooting “Mermaids” nearly every afternoon this summer after his neighbor, hair and make-up artist Chris McCracken of Montauk’s C.M. Hair Studio, works his water-proofed magic on the models.

“We do the dry stuff first so their hair doesn’t get messed up, and then toward the end we’ll put them in some really sexy outfits that’s really just sheer cloth and we’ll get them wet so it’s pretty much see-through,” said Mr. Katsipis. “I like to make sure the girls are comfortable…. I’ll be talking to them because I want to know about my subject and I’m always asking them questions to get their mind off of the camera. Some girls are a little apprehensive at first, but once we start swimming, everyone loosens up.”

He said the awkward nature of aqueous photography makes breaking the ice all the easier.

“We’ll make a joke of it because water is going up our noses,” he said. “It’s not as glamorous as the photos might make it look sometimes. You can ask the girls—it is a lot of work and the water is unseasonably cold, so some of the girls are shivering, blue—you know—hypothermic… We had to start bringing robes to the shoot so we could get them in the robes, stick them in the car with the heat on and start again after they warm up.”

You can check out the series by searching @montaukmermaids on Twitter, or by searching “Mermaids of Montauk” on Facebook or Instagram.

Monday, August 11, 2014

(As seen on the Edible East End website: http://www.edibleeastend.com/features/straight-take-one/)

Hi, I’m Gianna (Hi Gianna) and I serve alcoholic beverages. I am a writer, first and foremost, but I’ve been doing the bartender thing for the better part of a decade now, so my very first series will chronicle my adventures doing, well, the bartender thing.

In honor of the theatrical release of the new Ninja Turtles feature film on August 8, I’ll be using my maiden column to tell all y’all about the Ninja Turtle Martini I mixed up this month.

Background: I began learning my craft at the Blue Fugue, an eclectic bar/venue that was moved from Pirate’s Alley in New Orleans to the college town of Columbia, Missouri, where I was helping manage a costume, magic and theatrical supply store while pursuing my degree in journalism. Though I wasn’t very girly, I seemed to have a particular gift for mixing up drinks for the ladies. “Make me ssssomething fruity,” they’d slur in sorority speak. “Jusssst make me sssssomething good.”

There are three colleges in Columbia, one of which is an all-girls liberal arts college, so I couldn’t have avoided those girl if I tried, even if my bar was almost entirely populated by gonzo journalists and crusty alternative types.

There was a fraternity bar next door and because folks tend to wander all sorts of strange places when wasted, there she would be – Mary Lou, Lizzy, Brittany, Katie, whatever – telling me to make, “I don’t know – jussssssssssssst make me something good.” I’d mindlessly throw together rum punches and electric lemonades and watch their eyes light up as they gripped their martini glasses.

“OH MY GUUUUUUUUUUUUHD,” they’d say. “IT’S SOOOOO GUUUUUUUUUHHHHD.” And that’s how I learned I had the gift – how I fell down the mixology rabbit hole. Totally involuntarily.

I would have much rather served them a beer. We had 200 different brews at the Blue Fugue and up-charged our Budweiser to punish the unimaginative souls who dared stand in front of our selection and order a Bud, but most girls with a sorority slur don’t like to drink beer that wasn’t Natty Light served in a funnel.

Fast forward to 2014. I’m standing behind a bar halfway across the United States at Brewology, a gastropub that opened last month on Montauk Highway in Speonk. Our executive chef, Lia Fallon, formerly of Amarelle, Jedediah Hawkins and the Riverhead Project, had just juiced a whole mess of cucumbers and watermelons to use in the development of our specialty cocktail menu. I’m handed a tupperware full of each one to to play with.

I put them in the fridge and get back to poking around. as I figure out where everything is and how everything works. Suddenly one of our busers sidles up with a plastic quart container and says, “Lia wants to see what you’ve mixed up with the cucumber juice.” This was show time, the kind of moment that makes or breaks a man.

The ice goes in first and then the cucumber juice, but what now?

Like the Who adding Pinball Wizard to their rock opera, Tommy, knowing music critic Nik Cohn is a fan of the game, I go for Hendrick’s Gin next and finally, lemonade, because that’s a favorite cocktail ingredient of my own. (Then I throw in some agave nectar for good measure.) I taste the stuff, which glows green like radioactive waste. My eyes widen. I’ve just struck sewage green gold. But what to call it? Cactus Juice and Cucumbertini describe what I’ve just created, but as suddenly as the thought pops into my head, the final decision is made.

“Nah, dude,” I say to my gathered co-workers. “I’m calling it the Ninja Turtle.” With the blessing of my two bosses, Kazi and Roger, the Ninja Turtle is born.

Last week it evolved to its final incarnation. It now includes a thin slice of muddled jalapeño to offset the sweetness of the agave nectar. And I even couple a slice of cucumber and jalapeno together on the rim to make it extra purty.

I’ve been serving that neon green martini for about two weeks now — to ladies and dudes alike — and in true turtle power fashion, the Ninja Turtle is beginning to garner a cult following. When someone starts doing excited little claps after they sip your concoction, you know you’ve done something right. “It’s so refreshing,” folks tell me with excitement. “What a great summer beverage!”

Nothing makes me happier than making my customers so excited that they clap at me or use the P-word: perfect. So yeah, ladies and gents, you are so welcome. It was the absolute pleasure of this amateur mixologizing (new verb) hero on a half shell.